Commentary

Rhetoric and Reality on American Manufacturing

By Veronique de Rugy
Monday, March 31 2025

If you believe the political rhetoric, you probably think America's industrial base has been hollowed out, gutted or "shipped overseas." Across the ideological spectrum, people say U.S. manufacturing is in decline. They argue mostly about who's to blame and how many tariffs we need to fix the problem. This widely told tale is wrong. For one thing, for all the talk of job losses and economic decline, it's worth remembering that the unemployment rate is a very low 4.1%, and real wages (those adjusted for inflation) have been growing. If anything, manufacturing is suffering a labor shortage…

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